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Windows Live Photo Gallery freezes or does not start

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Symptoms

Windows Live Photo Gallery freezes or does not start when you try to start it in Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7.

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Cause

This issue occurs because a database is corrupted. This database is created by Windows Live Photo Gallery to track photos and videos.

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Resolution

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

To fix this problem, you have to regenerate the database for Windows Live Photo Gallery. To do this, follow the appropriate steps for your operating system:

Windows XP

  1. Close Windows Live Photo Gallery.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type %userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows Live Photo Gallery, and then click OK.
  3. Delete any existing instance of "OLD_Pictures.pd4" and "OLD_Pictures.pd5."
  4. Locate and then right-click "Pictures.pd4" or "Pictures.pd5."
  5. Rename "Pictures.pd4" to "OLD_Pictures.pd4" or rename "Pictures.pd5" to "OLD_Pictures.pd5."

Windows Vista

  1. Close Windows Live Photo Gallery.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Photo Gallery, and then click OK.
  3. Delete any existing instance of "OLD_Pictures.pd4" and "OLD_Pictures.pd5."
  4. Locate and then right-click "Pictures.pd4" or "Pictures.pd5."
  5. Rename "Pictures.pd4" to "OLD_Pictures.pd4" or rename "Pictures.pd5" to "OLD_Pictures.pd5."

Windows 7

  1. Close Windows Live Photo Gallery.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Photo Gallery, and then click OK.
  3. Delete any existing instance of "OLD_Pictures.pd4" and "OLD_Pictures.pd5."
  4. Locate and then right-click "Pictures.pd4" or "Pictures.pd5."
  5. Rename "Pictures.pd4" to "OLD_Pictures.pd4" or rename "Pictures.pd5" to "OLD_Pictures.pd5."

Note Windows Live Photo Gallery must be closed to perform this repair. When you restart Windows Live Photo Gallery, the database will be rebuilt.

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More information

How the MATS package works to fix this problem
  1. The MATS package scans your computer and detects if the computer is running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7.
  2. The MATS package renames the database and then regenerates the database.

    Note During this process, a dialog box appears. This gives you the option to fix the issue automatically (this is the recommended option) or to manually select individual issues to fix.
  3. The MATS package verifies that the database is regenerated successfully.
Other issues that the MATS package fixes
930097 Computer is slow when Windows Photo Gallery displays TIFF images that do not fit into one page in Windows Vista
939395 An image and its background become yellow in Windows Photo Gallery in Windows Vista
2425702 A screen saver that displays pictures stops working in Windows

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Keywords: kbtshoot, kbprb, kbsurveynew, kbexpertisebeginner, kbexpertiseinter, kbmatsfixme, KB944221, kbAudGeneralUser, kbAudEndUser

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Article Info
Article ID : 944221
Revision : 13
Created on : 8/19/2020
Published on : 8/20/2020
Exists online : False
Views : 470